UNAM designs device to detect harmful microorganisms

Alternativo.mx | DNA chips or microarrays, serve to detect the environment and fungi surfaces, bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that cause disease, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) designed a device of this kind, capable to detect 280 pathogens.

In a statement the highest house of learning explained that the device will analyze environmental samples from the coastal area, nature reserves, recreational areas, water treatment plants and hospital environments.

It was originally designed by the Laboratory of Ecogenomic Studies of the Conservation Biology Unit under the Academic Unit of Science and Technology at UNAM in Yucatan, to detect marine products contaminated with harmful algae; but the construction is carried out by the company Affymetrix.

The university noted that the microarray technique is widely used in the world for timely detection of agents that can cause diarrheal diseases, respiratory, nosocomial infections and intoxications

“The microchip is formed by a set of gene probes that are immobilized on a small surface. If the DNA provided in this surface has DNA complementary to one of the immobilized probes, they will be joined for their specific affinity. Since the molecules are labeled, they emit light when excited by the reading device, resulting in an image with bright points where there was DNA hybridization and where the presence of the genes under study is detected “she explained.